Vancouver airport braces for crush of passengers

Vancouver International Airport will face a crush of passengers around the closing of the Olympics, prompting airlines to increase the number of flights to meet demand.

Air Canada has added non-stop domestic flights on March 1 — the day after the Olympic closing ceremony — to Toronto, Calgary and Montreal as well as international destinations London, Frankfurt, Zurich and Paris, spokeswoman Angela Mah told The Vancouver Sun on Friday.

"It's going to be a very busy day," Mah said, predicting levels would exceed the 14,500 Air Canada passengers on a normal peak winter day at YVR.

Traffic is also expected to be up on Feb. 28 and March 2.

"We are definitely keeping a very close eye on the traffic patterns and adjusting as necessary."

Rebecca Catley, director of communications for YVR, estimated that 230,000 additional people will travel through the airport during the first quarter of 2010 over the previous year.

An additional 1,000 aircraft takeoffs and landings are expected in February alone. On the day before the opening ceremony, more than 160 corporate aircraft took off or landed, compared with 60 to 70 on an average day at YVR, she said.

Meanwhile, private local pilots are looking forward to the end of special Olympic airspace restrictions in effect through March 24.

Pat Kennedy, chief executive officer of Pacific Flying Club, a flight training and aircraft rental operation at Boundary Bay Airport, said business is down 70 per cent due to flight restrictions imposed during the Games.

There are restrictions on student pilots flying solo, and requirements for both pilots and flight plans to be registered in advance with the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit.

While the registration process works well, Kennedy said, it serves as a deterrent to pilots who look out the window in the morning, see a bright sunny day and want to go flying.

Others are put off by the threat of being intercepted by Canadian Forces CF-18 fighter jets should they stray off course during a flight.

Pacific Flying Club boasts about 400 members and a fleet of 26 single- and twin-engined aircraft.

The Air Transport Association of Canada is seeking $3 million in compensation from Ottawa for the "disastrous impact" on aviation companies and flight schools — especially those at Delta's Boundary Bay Airport — resulting from federal airspace restrictions during the Olympics.

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